Merz’s Popularity Plunges to Record Low for a German Chancellor

Friedrich Merz’s popularity has hit a historic low for German chancellors in a new poll, underscoring his struggle to convince voters he’s the person to lead the European Union’s largest economy.

One year after taking office, Merz registered just 16% support for his performance as chancellor in a Deutschlandtrend poll conducted by Infratest Dimap for the ARD public broadcaster. That marks the lowest rating ever recorded for a sitting German leader since the firm’s survey began in 1997. It’s also a 5 percentage-point drop from April for Merz.